Apollo The Great: "Above The Sky" (Prod. Willie B)

New Jersey MC Apollo The Great has established a reputation for crafting honest, hard-hitting hip-hop, reminiscent of that in the Golden Age. Last year's Apollo 21 LP supplied plenty of underground gems, including the Freeway-helped "Ink Bleed," which recently recieved a visual makeover, but Apollo is looking forward to a new album, Hennessy Diaries, releasing next month.

The first track arrives in the form of "Above The Sky," a characteristically lyrically-driven affair which is juiced by an infectious piano-laced melody thanks to producer Willie B, one of the sonic architects in TDE's in-house Digi+Phonics team. He also scratches in a few Biggie and Jay-Z samples for good measure.